Among all the positive traits effective leaders bring to the office or workplace, studies has revealed an attribute that is more reliable in predicting overall success than our intelligence quotient (IQ), our emotional intelligence (EI). EI is defined as the capacity to understand and effectively organize personal emotions in ourselves and in others.
Why is emotional intelligence (EI) such a valued workplace skill? According to one study of hiring managers, almost 75% of respondents recommended that they valued an employee’s EQ more than their IQ.
Emotional intelligence is widely known as a valuable skill that helps improve management, communication, problem-solving, and relationships within the workplace. It is also a skill that researchers believe can be improved, with practice and training.
People With High EQ
- Make good decisions and solve problems
- Keep calm under pressure
- Resolve conflicts
- Have bigger empathy
- Listen, evaluate and respond to constructive criticism
People With Low EQ
- Play the role of the victim, or keep away of taking responsibility for errors
- Have aggressive or passive communication styles
- Refuse to work as a teamwork
- Being too critical of others, or ignoring other people’s opinions
There are absolutely benefits to using EI/EQ in the workplace, as the examples and associations above show. So far, there are virtually no disadvantages to it.
However, there are some limitations-emotional intelligence can be upgraded, but as with other traits and skills, there is an upper limit to it that is likely determined at least in part by genetics. Not everybody can be an expert of emotional intelligence.
In addition, there is some concern that too much emotional intelligence can push manipulation, and other unethical or negative behavior. If unscrupulous employees have extremely high EI/EQ, they may be tempted to use their emotional intelligence to deceive, manipulate, and take benefit of their coworkers, subordinates, and perhaps even their management.
Commonly, having excess EI/EQ is not something anyone should be too concerned about; it’s much more common to have too little than too much.
